We have received reports that many of the roads leading into and out of the southeast portion of the United States are now cleared of debris and that power should be restored to many affected customers by Monday September 18th. Furthermore, we have learned that the USPS, UPS and FedEx will be resuming shipments into and out of the southeastern US this coming Monday. So, we will be resuming shipments to the affected area beginning Monday although there could still be intermittent delays where service has not been fully restored or in instances where the Postal Service has decided to temporarily withhold shipments including the Florida Keys.
September 2017
Eaglemoss Lowers the Boom on the Competition
And the hits just keep on coming. Late this afternoon, one of our distributors informed us that many of the previously sold out 1:43 scale Eaglemoss military vehicles are returning to the battlefield this October, many of which were either available in very limited numbers or not at all. According to the literature, this will likely be a “come as you are party” meaning they will likely get only one shipment and no restocks. We are currently in the process of changing the status on those items listed in our Eaglemoss section from “Sold Out” to “Back Order” so you may place your orders as soon as possible.
If you previously ordered any of these vehicle but not got your order filled, we strongly recommend you contact us immediately to see if you would still like these items or perhaps add to your order. We will be placing our order with the distributor tomorrow, so we advise taking a look at the Eaglemoss section and your backs orders as soon as possible before we transmit our order.
Sometimes it Pays to be Patient
We took a wait and see attitude with SkyMax Models over the past year, ever since they started raising their prices on some of their newest releases well above what we thought the market would bear. This strategy may have paid off for everyone concerned since two of their latest aircraft are now being offered at bargain basement pricing.
Cut almost in half from its original MAP pricing, the first aircraft up for your consideration is this Douglas TBD-1 Devastator torpedo plane, which represents a warbird that took part in the Battle of Midway (SM8008) in June 1942.
The second release is an Imperial Japanese Navy Aichi D3A1 Val dive-bomber, then embarked upon the Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku, which took part in the Battle of Coral Sea in early 1942 (SM5008). Both models are now being offered at just $39.99, a far cry from their initial street price when they took to the skies earlier this year.
Dragon Returns to do Battle
If you weren’t lucky enough to score some of the Cyber-Hobby 1:72 scale tanks released well over a decade ago, then you may want to toss that Fidget aside and take notice. To help restart their Dragon Armor line, the Company plans to offer two new King Tiger Ausf. B heavy tanks that look eerily similar to some of the Cyber-Hobby versions that have skyrocketed in value over the years. While they won’t come in collector tins or come bundled with numbered certificates of authenticity like their expensive cousins, the first pairing of heavies will no doubt get scooped up by the handful once they hit the street in November.
We’ve listed both vehicles (DRR60399 and DRR60400) on our web site and have begun accepting pre-orders. Keep in mind both of these replicas are already being considered home runs in the collectible market, and will no doubt soar in value once they start to sell out. As far as we are concerned, these are considered “no-brainers” that signal the start of something big in Dragon’s armored stable.
Atlas Editions: Four if by Land, Two if by Sea
Looking to expand their foothold in the North American market, Atlas Editions will soon make available a quartet of new 1:43 scale military vehicles this October. On the land, expect to see a Willys jeep (ATL7123101), Italian Centauro Tank Destroyer (ATL7123112), USMC LAV-25 Piranha Light Armored Vehicle (ATL7123117), and Italian Fiat Iveco Oto Melara Type 6614 Armored Personnel Carrier (ATL7123117).
By sea, two German U-Boats will surface soon: a German Kriegsmarine Type VIC U-Boat – U-552, Germany, 1941 (ATL7169103) and a German Kriegsmarine Type XXI U-Boat – U-2540, Germany, 1945 (ATL7169105). The latter is, perhaps, the most coveted warship in the Atlas submarine series, since it represents the most advanced submarine ever to set sail with the Kriegsmarine.
Eaglemoss Mutters, “In space no one can hear you scream!”
Eaglemoss is no stranger to both the Alien and Predator sci-fi universe, having released a bevy of figures tied to each license over the last few years. However, when to comes to some of the ships portrayed in the feature films, the Company has thus far sidestepped the issue, perhaps looking to take the Star Trek starships series as far as it can go before tackling another ship-based line up.
That said, it appears as if Eaglemoss has finally begun to take the ships a bit more seriously, announcing their intent to offer a range of larger ships beginning later this year. The first ship in the brand new series is based upon the U.S.C.S.S. Nostromo.The Nostromo was a modified Lockmart CM-88B Bison M-Class starfreighter captained by Arthur Dallas, registered to the Weyland-Yutani Corporation out of Panama. The Nostromo operated as a tug, connecting to and pulling loads like a tractor truck rather than carrying those loads on board like a traditional freighter.
The ship was destroyed in 2122 when its reactor was set to self-destruct by Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley in an attempt to kill the lone Xenomorph that was loose aboard the vessel. The ship and its cargo were completely destroyed in the resulting explosion.
According to reports, the Eaglemoss rendition of the Nostromo will measure approximately eight inches in length and be composed of diecast metal and ABS. Its not clear presently if it will come bundled with a magazine as is customary with the Star Trek starship series nor the frequency of releases once the Nostromo hits the streets. Likewise, we do not have any indication if Eaglemoss plans to offer any subscription-based rewards for ordering directly from the manufacturer. We hope to have further details concerning the new series in the coming weeks. Rumor has it they may also introduce another series connected to the Battlestar Galactica sci-fi universe, although nothing has been announced thus far.
Hurricane Irma
With Hurricane Irma due to make landfall in Florida some time this weekend, we may elect to hold any outbound shipments destined for the region for several days until such time that it is prudent to resume shipments. The same may hold true for the Carolinas and up along the eastern seaboard as we get a better sense of the hurricane’s impact on the entire region. We apologize for the decision but hope you understand that sometimes prudence is the better part of valor.
Note: On Friday, September 8th at 5PM EST, FedEx, UPS and the US Postal Service all announced that they have suspended service to the affected region for the next several days and will wait until the storm has passed before determining when they can resume service.
Needless to say, we wish everyone in the affected region the best of luck ahead of the storm. Stay safe and heed the warnings of the local authorities.
Holiday Shipping Schedule
With summer all but a distant memory, we’ve updated our Calendar of Events page to reflect both domestic and international shipping deadlines for the upcoming holiday season. If you plan on sending a gift or want to know the drop dead dates to mail an item amidst the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping, we strongly suggest you peruse the calendar to see how it fits within your shopping plans.
Product Spotlight: Bloody Biscay
The Luftwaffe’s Junkers Ju 88 was a twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Among the most versatile planes of the war, it was used as a bomber, close-support aircraft, nightfighter, torpedo bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. A solid aircraft with great performance, it went on to be one of the Luftwaffe’s most versatile aircraft. It carried out almost every kind of mission ever imagined, even as a giant flying bomb. It was used in every theater, with many nations, including nations allied against Germany.
Kampfgeschwader 40 (KG 40) was a Luftwaffe medium and heavy bomber wing of World War II, and the primary maritime patrol unit of any size within the World War II Luftwaffe. It is best remembered as the unit operating a majority of the four-engine Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor maritime patrol bombers. The unit suffered from the poor serviceability and low production rates of the Fw 200 bombers, and from repeated diversion of its long-haul capability aircraft to undertake transport duties in various theatres, especially for the airlift operations to supply encircled forces in the Battle of Stalingrad. Later in the war, KG 40 became one of several Luftwaffe bomber wings to use the Heinkel He 177A heavy bomber.
The wing was formed in July 1940 at Bordeaux-Merignac under the control of Fliegerfuhrer Atlantik. The unit flew reconnaissance missions in the North Atlantic searching for Allied convoys and reported their findings to the Kriegsmarine’s U-boat fleets. On October 26th,1940, Oberleutnant Bernhard Jope bombed the 42,000 ton liner Empress of Britain, the ship later being sunk by U-32. Between August 1940 and February 1941, the unit claimed over 343,000 tons of ships sunk. The newer Fw 200C-2 was then available and differed only in having the rear ventral areas of the outer engine nacelles recessed with dual-purpose bomb racks fitted to carry a pair per aircraft of the quarter-tonne SC 250 bombs, or standard Luftwaffe 300 litre (79 US gallon) drop tanks in the bombs’ place for longer ranged patrols.
On February 9th, 1941, five Focke-Wulf Fw 200 of I/KG 40 in cooperation with the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper and U-37 attacked the British convoy HG 53. The convoy lost 967-ton Norwegian freighter Tejo and British freighters Jura, Dagmar I, Varna, and 2490-ton Britannic to aerial attacks.
With the lack of suitable long-range air cover to counter KG 40 in mid 1941 the Allies converted several merchant ships to CAM ships (‘catapult aircraft merchant’ ship) as an emergency stop-gap until sufficient RN escort carriers became available. The CAM ship was equipped with a rocket-propelled catapult launching a single Hawker Hurricane, dubbed a “Hurricat” or “Catafighter”. KG 40 crews were then instructed to stop attacking shipping and avoid combat in order to preserve numbers. Their objective was to locate and shadow convoys and continually report by radio their composition and course changes to allow the Kriegsmarine to direct the ‘wolf-packs’ of U-boats to close, intercept and engage.
When in Doubt, Count Them Out
Collecting diecast memorabilia can be a wonderful if daunting past time, particularly if your collection starts to get out-of-hand, is stored in multiple locations, or you just can’t remember what you have and the price you paid. Enter a web site called Collectorz.com, which just might have the answer in this grab-and-go economy. Geared more towards collectors of movies, books, comic books, games and music, the site, nevertheless, offers some interesting software solutions that could easily be re-purposed towards the miniatures business. Essentially, you enter all of the information about each new treasure into a database, which can then be viewed as a mobile app, web-based program or desktop software solution, depending upon which option suits your fancy. Given the relative value of the average diecast collection and the ease with which anyone can forget what they paid for each item, it makes sense to catalog each acquisition the moment they come in, particularly if one day you decide to put things up for sale or turn it over to someone that doesn’t have a clue as to the value of each item. Think of it as an insurance policy that could one day pay off as handsomely as each collectible you own.